Beware Upstate NY Cover Drivers!

[DazedandConfused]

Local 693 has deemed that a grievance filed by part time employees, to give them seniority driving rights to the Cover Driver position, to be valid and have enforced it. Meaning.....that they have the right to use their Center Seniority to go into the Cover Driver class and bump anyone in there that has lower Center Seniority than they do. Cover drivers covered by the Upstate/West New York Supplemental Agreement will be the ones affected once news of this reaches your center. All arguements made by that locals current Cover drivers have run against a stone wall. Seems like they do not have any classification seniority because they are called TEMPORARY Cover drivers. Just giving you a heads up!! Good luck!!

 

[DorkHead]

Very Interesting. So, the company would have to go down the list of PT`s and ask if they would like to be cover drivers? Then, have to train all that say yes? Then notify them that they will be working as drivers for a number of days or weeks? (vacations and peak) Will they be reclassified? Seems like there is going to be alot of problems.

 

[Anonymous 10]

So your saying part-timers will be able to bump full-timers as long as they have longer company seniority?

 

[Catatonic]

Power to the Part Timers!

 

[DorkHead]

So your saying part-timers will be able to bump full-timers as long as they have longer company seniority?

No, I think he means cover drivers with no seniority

 

[brett636]

Wouldn't those with more center seniority have already been afforded the opportunity to be a cover driver? How many higher seniority part-timers would really change their mind?

 

[menotyou]

Local 693 has deemed that a grievance filed by part time employees, to give them seniority driving rights to the Cover Driver position, to be valid and have enforced it. Meaning.....that they have the right to use their Center Seniority to go into the Cover Driver class and bump anyone in there that has lower Center Seniority than they do. Cover drivers covered by the Upstate/West New York Supplemental Agreement will be the ones affected once news of this reaches your center. All arguements made by that locals current Cover drivers have run against a stone wall. Seems like they do not have any classification seniority because they are called TEMPORARY Cover drivers. Just giving you a heads up!! Good luck!!

Pg. 214 Appendix A.
A) Seniority part-time employees can work as Temporary Cover Drivers as coverage for seniority full time package and feeder drivers.
B) is about pay
C) Part-time employees working as Temporary Cover Drivers will do so for a minimum of one week at a time ane will be guaranteed a minimum of two days of planned coverage per week that they are working as a Temporary Cover Driver. All part time cover drivers working in the package of feeder classification shall be guaranteed eight hours per day.
It goes down through J.
No where in the contract are casuals/Cover drivers allowed a separate seniority list that is special just to them.
I have never understood that.
The Cover Driver/Casual seniority list should be the building seniority list.

 

[menotyou]

Wouldn't those with more center seniority have already been afforded the opportunity to be a cover driver? How many higher seniority part-timers would really change their mind?

Just the ones who think they are going to go full time just to have their chain yanked. Then, by the old rules, even though they are higher in building seniority, they have less seniority than the guys who went casual/cover driver before them.

 

[DorkHead]

Wouldn't those with more center seniority have already been afforded the opportunity to be a cover driver? How many higher seniority part-timers would really change their mind?

Now that I think of it, I believe they already do this at our building

 

[DazedandConfused]

Wouldn't those with more center seniority have already been afforded the opportunity to be a cover driver? How many higher seniority part-timers would really change their mind?

Should have been more specific I guess....PT'ers with more Center seniority(all of whom turned down numerous chances to driver Cover) now can come into the Cover driving class and literally bump Cover drivers back into preload, metro, whatever......we don't have FT Cover drivers in our center....all PT'ers. I am one of the CD'ers. Been driving for 5 yrs as a CD and now am looking to possible getting knocked back inside for 4 hrs a day and a lot less pay(naturally). I am not the only one. There are about 4-5 others with about the same time in as I as far as CDing is concerned and we're pretty ticked(to say it mildly). A FT driver can more driving seniority over another person (because that other person turned down the chance) with more center seniority, so why shouldn't the same practice spill over to the cover drivers? Because we are TEMPORARY is what we were told.

 

[DorkHead]

Most likely because you are classified as a PT. Even though you most likely work more than 20 hrs, you still receive a guaranty of only 4. Seniority gives those others the choice that you made 5 yrs. ago. FT`s are in a different classification.

 

[soberups]

I hate to sound like an ignoramus, but what the heck is a "cover" driver? We do not have any such job classification here.

 

[Nimnim]

Cover drivers are people who cover routes that need it for a time because of call ins or vacations.

Personally this whole thing doesn't sound right to me, and while this isn't quite the same, we do have bid sheets go up for things like car wash, and if there's no openings then no one who signs it gets the chance, but the bid still needs to be posted. Not whoever signs the bid can bump people out of it that signed it previously and got into the opening available.

 

[menotyou]

My building is very tiny. We don't have carwashers. Metro does that on Friday. Part-time Preferred Drivers(cover/casual),as they are called here, do what Nimnim said. We have a circumstance like that in our building, now. Person A worked preload waiting for fulltime job(one route, no cover). Person B went to driving school when management asked if anyone wants to cover driver. Person A, who has more seniority in building, waited for fulltime job(one route, no cover). Person B has been driving every day for three years. Person A went to driving school because of fulltime job coming soon.(guy who killed himself)
Job person A was waiting for has been cut. Now, potentially, Person A could bump person B. That is what all the hubbub is about. They say here that Part-time Preferred drivers have a separate seniority list. That is what dazed and confused says they are taking away in his building/area. I can't find a separate list in my contract. But, union and management probably had a deal on this.

It does suck that you stick your neck out there for casual(cover) and it might bite you. Sorry to hear they are playing with you. I would think that most people who wanted to cover are.
Good luck to you.

 

[Bubblehead]

I hate to sound like an ignoramus, but what the heck is a "cover" driver? We do not have any such job classification here.

Where I am in the Central Region the only part timers that serve as "cover drivers" are for single day vacation coverage. In the last contract we were permitted to declare our option week as as single day vacations to be administered much like option days. In order to facilitate this practice the company is allowed to use part timers to cover drive on these days. Of course the company blatantly abuses this, using them daily at a reduced rate of pay if not monitored. We have already won two full time jobs on this issue. My guess is something similar is happening in Upstate NY where the company has been called on an abuse and is cracking down on it now.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Where I am in the Central Region the only part timers that serve as "cover drivers" are for single day vacation coverage. In the last contract we were permitted to declare our option week as as single day vacations to be administered much like option days. In order to facilitate this practice the company is allowed to use part timers to cover drive on these days. Of course the company blatantly abuses this, using them daily at a reduced rate of pay if not monitored. We have already won two full time jobs on this issue. My guess is something similar is happening in Upstate NY where the company has been called on an abuse and is cracking down on it now.

Close but no cigar.

Drivers who are not FT and do not have their routes are called "casuals" or "cover" drivers. These drivers are not guaranteed work each day and must call in daily unless told the night before to report. The casuals that want to work each day show up each day ready to work and will usually find someone who wants to take the day. We also have FT cover drivers who do not have their own routes but are guaranteed work each day.

I have not heard of the grievance nor am I am aware of any such issue in my center. I will be curious to see how this plays out.

 

[Jones]

In the Atlantic Area a cover driver is a regular full time driver without a bid route who covers vacations, sick days, etc. They have a regular start time just like everyone else and they are guaranteed 8 hours when they come in. Part timers aren't allowed to cover full time routes here, and we don't have casuals.

 

[over9five]

In the Atlantic Area a cover driver is a regular full time driver without a bid route who covers vacations, sick days, etc. They have a regular start time just like everyone else and they are guaranteed 8 hours when they come in. Part timers aren't allowed to cover full time routes here, and we don't have casuals.

Here as well.

 

[BrownArmy]

In the last bid round I went full time cover driver (I'm right outside of Boston).

Here, we call seasonal drivers 'casuals'.

I cover vacations, sick days, split routes, etc.

I know 20+ routes in 7 towns and I don't get a day off unless I call in sick.

You haven't driven if you haven't driven cover...

 

[DazedandConfused]

My building is very tiny. We don't have carwashers. Metro does that on Friday. Part-time Preferred Drivers(cover/casual),as they are called here, do what Nimnim said. We have a circumstance like that in our building, now. Person A worked preload waiting for fulltime job(one route, no cover). Person B went to driving school when management asked if anyone wants to cover driver. Person A, who has more seniority in building, waited for fulltime job(one route, no cover). Person B has been driving every day for three years. Person A went to driving school because of fulltime job coming soon.(guy who killed himself)
Job person A was waiting for has been cut. Now, potentially, Person A could bump person B. That is what all the hubbub is about. They say here that Part-time Preferred drivers have a separate seniority list. That is what dazed and confused says they are taking away in his building/area. I can't find a separate list in my contract. But, union and management probably had a deal on this.

It does suck that you stick your neck out there for casual(cover) and it might bite you. Sorry to hear they are playing with you. I would think that most people who wanted to cover are.
Good luck to you.

That is what all the fuss is about. Person A getting driving seniority over Person B(in your same senario). Our building for the last 18-20 yrs. drove their PT'ers in order off the date they became qualified(31st day). Many of the current PT'ers who passed up coming out earlier either couldn't, or just didn't want to get put at the bottom of the Cover driver list. We used to have a list posted of the order we drove in. Not no more.We are talking of anything that concerns FT whatsoever. Occupied strictly by PT'ers. Tried to argue Past Practice, but were told it DIDN"T APPLY. Go figure....BTW....Many of the times we have driven have been to cover routes added that there were not enough FT drivers to cover(besides covering bid routes for whatever reason).